July 30, 2013

I am crazy about gallery walls {proof here on my Pinterest board} and have wanted to put one up in our apartment for a while now. After slowly collecting some frames and piecing it together, I finally hung one above our couch in the living room. It feels a little silly to be sharing this as it wasn't quite finished yet {I still had a second canvas to finish} but with the move, things are already coming off the walls now and who knows what I'll be doing at our new house. :) But I definitely wanted to remember it.

Just like the typical gallery wall process, I started by tracing and cutting out the shape of each piece of my gallery wall on white paper. I spent quite a while arranging and rearranging the pieces on my living room floor until I found an arrangement that I liked. Then I taped each piece of paper to the wall which made it very easy to move the pieces around until I got the spacing and height that I wanted.

Some pieces I hung with command strips so that we wouldn't have to patch so many holes later {apartment living} but I already had two nail holes from existing frames that I worked into a couple of the frames.

It was fun experimenting with this concept in an apartment to see what it looked like. I'm already dreaming up something different for our new home! Here is how it turned out...

I loved the message of that sign, "create your own happiness", from the second that I saw it. It is so true and this little family of mine that I have created is definitely my happiness! The little zinc "W" for our last name was from a Storenvy shop called Wanderlust! We hung our wedding invitation in the frame on the left, one of our favorite pictures of Rue on the right, and I made the wrapped canvas! :)

July 18, 2013

After a brief yet overwhelming experience, we finally made an on offer yesterday afternoon on our first home!! We decided that with two incomes and no kids it was time to stop throwing away money on rent. It has a porch for a swing where we can watch our little ones ride their bikes out front someday and a kitchen with the most gorgeous cabinets. It is such a dream, I can't wait to share more pictures! We're so excited for this new adventure of ours!

July 11, 2013

When we first got Rue, the pet store wasn't entirely sure how old she was. They guessed maybe six to eight weeks. I figured since we didn't know the exact day she was born it would be fun to consider 2 months prior to the day we got her so we would always remember that date {March 23rd}. When we brought her home she already seemed to be potty trained. We assumed it was because she spent most of the beginning of her life eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom on the bedding they had in her cage. On Tuesday however, things seemed to change!

What was once a small space where she would go to the bathroom in her cage became an anywhere occurrence. She was also incredibly energetic and would do figure eights around my feet. We were constantly having to watch where we walked so that she didn't get kicked or tripped on because she became our permanent shadow. She also hadn't slept for what seemed like over 48 hours. Since her behavior was odd, we tried researching what might be wrong. Everything we found told us to be concerned if she wasn't eating or drinking or if she as acting really lethargic but none of those things were the case. Then we both realized she was pretty close to six months old which we read was the time where bunnies go through puberty and are considered adults. After a quick google search on puberty, we found the common signs... bunny starts peeing and pooping everywhere, bunny runs circles around your feet making a whistling/singing sound, and bunny's heart races and has extra energy. BINGO! Rue had turned six months old on Tuesday without us even knowing it! After learning 80% of female bunnies acquire ovarian cancer after the age of 2 and that she will go back to using her cage as a bathroom, we decided to spay her today. So that is where she is right now. Poor little thing.

Happy 6 months Rue! I'm sorry you have to spend it under awful circumstances but we want you to be with us for a very long time.

July 9, 2013

With the firework show going as late as it did on fourth of July and because we are old people who go to bed early haha, we didn't end up getting to play with the sparklers we had bought earlier in the day. So when Saturday evening rolled around and we found them still sitting on the counter, we decided to have some fun. Granted, this was the first time I ever attempted to capture an image using a slow shutter speed, hence why they turned out a liiiittle blurry. Still need some practice but it was really fun!

And some were Harry Potter inspired might I add! Wingardium Leviosa. ;)

July 6, 2013

We had such an awesome 4th of July this year! We ended up missing the parade in the morning so that Nic could help out a friend's family with computer troubles that they have been having but it was completely worth it because we always love getting to see this family and it never fails that good feelings come from helping someone in need.

There was nothing better than starting out the fourth with some festive fruit pizzas. Look at all that yummy red, white, and blue!

Rue was feeling a liiiiittle left out from not being able to snag a bite so she had her number one fav, romaine lettuce. Wouldn't that be nice if we considered vegetables a treat?!

We are really lucky to only be living a few blocks away from the fairgrounds where the firework show happens. That place is a TOTAL mad house if you actually have to drive so we always walk there! By the time we got up to the fairgrounds there was still about an hour before dark so we played a few rounds of Uno to fill up the time. I'm great at that game! ;) HA It is a game of chance.

The fireworks ended up getting delayed because of high winds but it was SO worth sticking around. It gave us two and a half hours to just sit under the stars and talk and I loved every minute of it. Our alone time is something I'll really miss when we have kids someday. I'm taking full advantage of it now while I can. :) The firework show finally began around 11:30 and it did not disappoint!

I remember spending our first 4th of July together in Boise and telling Nic, "It is a really great show, you'll love it." Yeah... look who's laughing. Pocatello's firework show really is the biggest and best in southeastern Idaho! We were also lucky enough to be sitting next to a couple who brought their stereo with them and it was tuned to the channel where patriotic music is played in unison with the firework show. It was awesome!

Hope you had a happy and safe fourth! I sure do love this country that I live in and continually feel blessed to have the freedoms that we do.

July 3, 2013

It has been over 100 for the past few days, all of which I have spent sweltering in our apartment. It left cause for spending two hours in the public library yesterday. I found the books I wanted to check out within the first five minutes but the AC on fully blast in that place was pure heaven so I pretended to be interested in every section just to wander around in the pleasant 68 degrees. Also, have you been to the library in the summer time?! There are some straaaange people that hang out there during the day. And I became one of them yesterday. HA But today... today is 95 degrees, and while it is still hot, it feels much more manageable.

But I'll still probably be sitting as close to my portable AC as I can, while I ooo and ahh over my cute little cleaning fanatic. She is so adorable!

In other news, I signed my contract with the school district yesterday and it just feels so much more official. Almost as if a weight was lifted. Not that I didn't actually believe I got the job but getting hired in May and not starting employment until August is sort of a strange situation. I have been in my classroom a few times now and feel so giddy to start in August!

Nic has the next two days off for the fourth and I'm so happy about it! It will be a fun filled four day weekend over here! Try saying that 10 times fast! ;)
Happy Fourth of July Eve!

A love for music is a big part of who I am and luckily, I have a spouse who shares the same love otherwise I might drive him a little crazy.Those who are around me a lot are serenaded on a daily basis. I even had a friend who used to refer to me as the walking jukebox because I am always singing. haha I feel like I have a fairly versatile taste in music but it seems the genre I listen to the most at any given time revolves around seasons. For example, summer brings out the country lovin' girl in me and it is all I want to listen to lately. But yesterday was an exception!

One of my favorite bands, Relient K, released their new album yesterday, collapsible lung, and it is all I've been listening to since! Cue the jukebox in me. ;) It is the only band where I own every single one of their albums. I thought I'd share two of my favorite songs from their new album with you.

Don't blink has been on repeat for weeks since they released the music video on YouTube, which by the way, has the most gorgeous lighting and really makes me want to buy a street bike, put on my sunnies, and ride off into the sunset. With Nic of course! And the music video for the second song, Collapsible Lung, is to the credits of a vintage movie and well, we all know how I feel about vintage. Swoon! So there ya go.

July 1, 2013

Happy July 1st! Boy did the month of June go by fast but it was nothing short of a party over here! We kicked off the month with Nic's birthday that made him officially closer to 30 than 20. He loves being told that by the way. ;) I had to hide his birthday present and "Happy Birthday Banner" balloons in the closet specifically marked with a keep out sign because when you live in a two bedroom apartment, every room is subject to being peeked in. Baby bunny wasn't so great at helping wrap Nic's birthday present but exceptional at eating the tape! haha That picture of Rue licking Nic's nose is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen!!

June is a fabulous month for evening hikes with spectacular views but we were only able to go on a few thanks to a closing windpipe after 10 steps. I finally got in to see a doctor and was given an inhaler for exercised-induced asthma. That inhaler has made a world of a difference ever since and I'm happy to be exercising to my full potential again! The month of June also brought a few warm thunderstorms with beautiful rainbows at the end.

We took a trip to Boise while my brother was home from the Naval Academy to celebrate Nic and I's June birthdays with some of my family. Spending time with them is nothing short of a blast besides, it gives me a great opportunity to see my "tree farm" again! Confused? haha read a little more about my obsession with it here. My mom got me a pair of red Hunter wellies for my birthday which I have been wanting for a really long time! While in Boise we got to visit one of my best friends Brooke who just returned home from an LDS mission to Ireland. It was so awesome to catch up with her and hear some of her fun memories! Glad to have her home! We also visited my favorite store/ happy place. I love you, Target.

At the end of June we celebrated my birthday. While the day brought rain {not my favorite} it was the perfect opportunity to wear my birthday rain boots. I also received a card from my husband with the sweetest message that has ever been written to me. And I felt the need to join the rest of the 8 year old community to get my picture taken in the Monster's University photo box to commemorate the occasion! My diploma also came in the mail on my birthday! Still feels surreal that I finally made it to this point.

Those are the makings of a gallery wall up there ^. Something I have been wanting to put together above our couch for a long time. Can't wait to share the finished product with you soon. I also added to my collection of owls with that cute soap dispenser. The last couple days of June brought 100 degree weather which was cue for a cool fruit smoothie from Jamba.